Improvement in railway-signals



J. E. McCARTY.

RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No.179,935. Patented J'u1y18,1876.

Unrran TATES JAMES EJMOGARTY, OF GOLD SPRING, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY-SIGNALS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. I79,935, dated July 18, 1876; application filed June 20, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES E. MoGAR'rY, of Cold Spring, in the county of Putnam and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Signal Device for Railroad- Tracks, of which the following is a specification:

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a top view of my improved signal device for railroad-tracks, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the same, partly in section, on line 0 c, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corredevices at some distance from the danger-- signal, or at intermediate points, or by suitable mechanism worked worked by the train itself.

In the drawing,'A represents alever-arm that is pivoted at one end in suitable manner and applied at the other end to an operating wire, B, that runs in suitable guidestaples a of the rails or ties to any suitable distance along the track, and, finally, wound on a drum 'or cylinder, 0, that is" turned by acrank, and provided with a ratchet-wheel and pawl, D.

' When the drum 0 is turned the lever-arm A is brought from a position parallel to the track to one at right angles thereto, as 'shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, and thereby a torpedo that is attached to an extension of lever-arm A brought on the top of the railroadrail. v

The lever-arm A is acted upon by a strong spiral or other spring, I), that tends to pull the arm against a stop-pin, d, carrying the lever-arm back into its original position as soon as the pawl D is released from the ratchet of the drum 0.

In the winter season the lever-arm A is provided with suitable scraping-knives that clear the top of the rail of snow, and secure thereby the explosion of the torpedo. The pivot of the lever-arm A-wo rks also by means of suitable gear-wheels a post, E, with signalarm that is set to danger jointly with the terthe track, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to give the signal of danger to a train coming in either direction. i

On a double-track line a separate drum,

ratchet, and pawl device has tobe arranged for each track to work the signaling device in either direction.

For the purpose of setting the device from points intermediately between the track, suitable boxes with small ratchet-and-pawl devices may be arranged by which the track-' tender, as well as the engineer and conductor of a train, may be enabled, by the use of a key, to set the signal to danger without being obliged to go to the point where the operating-drum is located.

Suitable mechanism may also be arranged in connection with the track by which the lever-arm may be set and released in automatical manner by action of the locomotive and train to give warning'to the train following, either of being too close tothe train ahead, or of any danger or accident that may have occurred.

When the track is clear the lever-arm is released by withdrawing the pawl from the operating ratchet'wheels.

H nvin g thus described m yin ven tion, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pat- The combination of aswinging and spring lever-arm carrying a torpedo or other detonating device, and of a common signaling-post, worked in connection therewith, with a wire running along the track, and suitable operating mechanism, at some distance from the same, that sets orreleases the signals as required, substantially as and for the purpose 

